Christmas

We've been dumping a lot of archived content on you lately - both four and five month posts, Thanksgiving, and a few Hamptons posts. Well, we've got one more - Baby's First Christmas! This year's Christmas was in Atlanta with Mimi and GoDaddy. (For those that are wondering, it isn't Go Daddy after the website, it's an homage to my Dad's grandfather named Hugo - hence, huGO Daddy...Go Daddy.)

Our trip started in a very similar manner to our first airplane ride - with a blowout! We used our emergency outfit again before we even got on the plane. But in addition to a new outfit, she also got a pair of wings!

These are special kid-friendly wings - they stick, instead of pin on. 

One of our first stops in ATL was to visit an old friend from college, Meredith. Meredith had her second child, Holden, shortly after Sloan was born. They also have a two year old girl, Josie.

Meredith and I switched babies for this shot. 

 Another visit was to Bernie's house. Bernie is a "Tweep" of mine (Twitter + Peep = Tweep). You may have heard of him before, he is famous on the internet. He lives very close to my parents, so we took Sloan to meet him and his family.

Bernie and his youngest reminiscing when she could fit into one hand. 

But those weren't the only people who got to meet Sloan in Atlanta! We rented our neighborhood clubhouse and had folks over for an informal Sip n See. My mom put in a lot of hard work to get everything ready, and we all had a blast! Friends from college were in town for Christmas, I got to see a lot of friends from High School (and their Mom's), and lot of my Mom's friends from church and teaching were able to come too. It was a lot of the same people who have showed us so much support through Sloan's crazy arrival, so it meant a lot to us. I'm grateful to be able to show them how strong their love has made our little girl!

Shower decor

My mom with her buddies from Buford High School

Me with two college friends - Lauren, who was in town from New Orleans, and  Cecilia, who lives in New York now. 

Several of my High School friends were able to make it as well. Here is half of the "Goonies" - as you can see, several of us have babies around the same age. Left to Right is Jenny L, Laura (with Jake, born 10/19), Me (Sloan born 8/15), Laurie (with Woodson, born 9/8), Sara, and Jenny P. Not pictured is Casey who had Cam on 8/30. The crazy thing is that they all had boys...while in New York, all of Sloan's friends are girls - no boys!

Finally, what you've all been waiting for - Christmas Day! It was a really great day, as we were able to fill my parent's house full of grandkids. My brother, Drew, and his wife, Steph, came over in the morning with their two boys Sean (2 +years) and Liam (9 months). After a quick brunch of cheese grits and mimosas, it was time to open presents!

Christmas tree, ready to go 

L-R, Liam, Drew, Sean, Mimi

Sean, 2 years old, tearing into the presents...regardless of who they were for! 

 Barry's parents spent Christmas down in Florida this year, but were nice enough to swing through Atlanta on their way. We all went to dinner together, but we were too caught up in chatting to remember to take a picture of Sloan with both sets of grandparents and her great grandmother. It really was a huge miss on our part, but hopefully there will be another opportunity in the future. They did not leave without a really great memento though - Barry's Mom made the cutest cross stitch stocking for Sloan's first Christmas.

Stocking hung by the fire with care

 Sloan slept most of the morning away, but woke up for the end of the action. She got a fun toy from Aunt Steph & Uncle Drew and a great big box of clothes from Mimi & Go Daddy

Sloan's first Christmas! 

The whole family together by the fireplace

...and the aftermath

Pooped. 

The big Christmas surprise this year was a new dishwasher for my parents (major son-in-law points for Barry!). It only took 2 midnight and 2 6am trips to Home Depot, but it was ready in and working by Christmas!

Something is missing

Headless Barry

Finishing touches!
(it's not blue, that is just the protective film)

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas. I'm glad we spent a full six days there, as we were able to really visit and did not feel as rushed as we normally do. To wrap up, here are a few other fun pictures from our trip...

Sloan's Christmas Eve outfit

Frog towel from Mimi

Thanks Mimi and Go Daddy for a wonderful Christmas!

Our little Elf